In what may have been their worst performance in years, the Oilers were an absolute train wreck in a 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

"It's tough to win games when you're not scoring," said Oilers right winger Jordan Eberle. "And it's tough to win games when you're letting in six, too.

"We've said the same things over and over again and it starts to (tick) you off when you're just not doing it."

They kept it close for as long as they could, 1-0 after 20 minutes and 2-0 after 40, then the Blues rose up in the third period and decided to flex their muscles, scoring four-straight to win in a walk.

Right winger Chris Stewart had a hat-trick in the victory to give him eight goals in the last six games.

"In the second period we wanted to get in on the forecheck and get some more offensive-zone time," said Stewart. "When we play like that, we're definitely going to get some chances.

"They got some high-end talent back there so the more time you can make them spend in their zone, the more frustrated they get."

The Oilers been shut out for the sixth time this season and third time in the last five games. Not that Blues goalie Brian Elliott saw a lot of shots in the last two periods (just nine in total), but he earned his keep in the first 20 minutes when Edmonton outshot the Blues 14-5.

The momentum took a violent swing the other way in the second period, with St. Louis out-shooting Edmonton 14-4 and expanding their lead to 2-0 on a beautiful connect-the-dots play that consisted of five tape-to-tape passes as left winger Brenden Morrow, Stewart and center Derek Roy danced through Oilers defensemen Jeff Petry and Anton Belov at 5:50.

The Blues poured it on in the third, with Stewart making it 4-0 at 1:46, center Jaden Schwartz making it 4-0 at 2:38 and Stewart completing the hat-trick goal to make it 5-0 at 7:27 and center Patrik Berglund making it 6-0 at 12:42.

"They came out strong and we weathered the storm and scored one," said Elliott. "Then we settled into what we wanted to do in the second. We wanted to finish out with a good 20 minutes in the third.

"We were getting guys making plays and obviously Stewart scoring three definitely helps on a night like tonight."

The fans at Rexall Place booed the Oilers off their ice when the final horn sounded. It was an embarrassment on all fronts.

"We have this uncanny ability to shoot ourselves in the foot," said coach Dallas Eakins, who ripped into the players during a lengthy post-game meeting.

"It's like we love misery. I've had enough misery. I've only been here awhile and these players have to be tired of it. There has to be a change in the commitment level and accountability."

The players have been saying all the right things for weeks, but haven't been doing them. They don't blame the coach, nor the fans, for letting them have it.

"Once it's four or five nothing you can see the frustration of the fans," said former Blues left winger David Perron. "If I was sitting in the stands I might be doing the same or probably worse. What is it, six in a row now? There are a lot of things that aren't going well.

"If I was the coach I think I would have been tearing the whole room apart. He's still trying to figure it out himself, too. People have to get pissed off in this room. We just take it. Everyone has to get pissed off."

NOTES: The Blues got a pleasant surprise when C David Backes returned to the line-up early. The big captain had been out two games with an upper body injury and wasn't expected back till late next week. ... In his first 48 games since joining the Blues, D Jay Bouwmeester has 31 points and is plus 21. ... Even though G Jaroslav Halak is 7-0-1 with a 1.76 GAA against the Oilers, the Blues started Brian Elliott. ... Oilers LW Ryan Jones collided with a teammate at the morning skate and was knocked unconscious. He had to be helped off the ice and was held out of Saturday's game. ... Edmonton's power play has allowed a league-leading eight shorthanded goals this year. As a result RW Nail Yakupov has been taken off it. ... The season is only 38 games old, but the Oilers have already had four five-game losing streaks.